3 Promising MLB Pitchers Making Pitch Mix Adjustments Early In 2025
Image credit: Max Meyer (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Pitching development is rarely linear. Some of today’s best pitchers were once relative unknowns as prospects, while many highly-touted minor league arms never make a big league impact.
What’s clear is that development is always happening, making it crucial to track pitch mix changes in the modern game. As fantasy players, we can monitor player growth in real time. The key is spotting changes and interpreting their impact.
With that in mind, today we’ll exploring a trio of young pitchers off to promising starts in 2025.
Max Meyer, RHP, Marlins
Heading into this spring, Meyer was somewhat overlooked. The third-overall pick in the 2020 draft, he underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2022. By the time he returned last summer as a 25-year-old, he had just two big league starts to his name. In 11 outings last year, he posted a 5.68 ERA, and the underlying numbers weren’t much better. An overhaul was needed, and that’s precisely what Miami delivered.
Although it’s only been one start, the additions of a sinker and sweeper in Meyer’s arsenal were first reported in February. It makes sense that he’d scale back his four-seamer, which posted a -7 run value in 2024, to complement the new additions.
Here are the percentages of how often he threw each pitch in his first start of 2025:
- Slider: 40%
- Four-seamer: 20%
- Sinker: 15%
- Sweeper: 13%
- Changeup: 12%
That’s a big adjustment for a starter who threw his fastball and slider over 80% of the time last year. Like Carlos Rodón, Meyer is becoming a wide-arsenal pitcher.
Meyer’s pitch mix adjustments aren’t tied to a platoon split—he’s actually been slightly better against lefties in his career. Instead, the Marlins’ focus seems to be on better complementing his trademark slider.
Last season, opposing hitters could sit on Meyer’s slider down in the zone. Now, with a sweeper 3 mph slower and with more horizontal break, he’s giving them something else to consider. Meanwhile, his new sinker adds a harder, opposite-breaking option to keep hitters off balance.
It helps that he’s adapted to his new pitches quickly, as both grade well in publicly-available Stuff models. One start against the Pirates isn’t much to go on, but there are reasons for optimism moving forward.
MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Nationals
Several aces took the mound on Opening Day, but Gore’s performance against the Phillies stood out: 13 strikeouts while allowing just one hit and no walks. This week against the Blue Jays, he gave up nine hits with a 5:2 K/BB—a reminder that we’re working with small sample sizes.
Dreaming on Gore’s season-long upside is easy, as his fastball remains an elite pitch. The most significant change to his arsenal has been the reintroduction of his slider, which he’s now throwing slower and with more depth than before. After shifting from his old slider to a cutter last year, Gore has become more of a five-pitch starter than a four-pitch one.
Time will tell if this takes him to the next level. Possessing a dominant fastball is one of the biggest hurdles in pitching development, and his challenge now is maintaining consistency to go along with a deeper arsenal in the absence of his upper-end velo.
Although he’s been less effective against lefties in his career, it’s worth noting that Toronto succeeded against Gore with Andrés Giménez as the only lefthanded hitter in the lineup. As a result, Gore scaled back his slider and cutter, relying more on his fastball-curveball combination. The more solutions he finds for facing different handedness—while complementing his lively four-seamer—the easier pitching will become for Gore. He’s closer than ever to unlocking his potential.
AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP, Braves
Smith-Shawver debuted in 2023, which gives the impression that he’s been around longer than he has. Counting his first start of 2025, he’s made just eight major league appearances, and he’s still prospect eligible. More than Meyer and Gore, Smith-Shawver is still figuring out what works and what doesn’t against big league hitters.
However, he’s still in the experimental phase. On Sunday against the red-hot Padres, Smith-Shawver threw just 28% four-seamers, down from 54% in his previous stint with the Braves.
Even with his fastball losing a tick of velocity, Stuff models suggest he’s improved its effectiveness due to increased vertical break. This worked well alongside a splitter that posted a 71% whiff rate.
While it’s encouraging to see him throw additional pitches, early indications are that his slider and curve remain works in progress. Smith-Shawver isn’t yet fully formed, but the Braves’ track record with development is one to pay close attention to. For fantasy purposes, Smith-Shawver is presently scheduled to start on Saturday against the attachable Marlins. That’s one to start him for as we continue learning more about his adjustments.
